


Fever Terror

by happyaspie



Series: Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Fever, Fever Dreams, Flash Thompson Being Flash Thompson, Guilty Peter Parker, Illnesses, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Night Terrors, Peter Parker Whump, Platonic Bed Sharing, Platonic Cuddling, Sick Character, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Vomiting, it's minor though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24613051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: Peter's not feeling well but goes to spend the weekend with Tony anyway.  Tony instantly figures out that the kid is sick and easily steps in to take care of him.   However, when Peter ends up having a fever-induced night-terror, Tony ends up taking a few hard hits while trying to get the temperature down.  This, of course, leaves PEter feeling guilty.
Relationships: Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574956
Comments: 8
Kudos: 219





	Fever Terror

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr Prompt:  
> Is it okay if you write a fanfic about Peter living with Tony and with a high fever. This leads him to be delirious and attacks Tony because he thinks he a villain that is trying to kill him. I'm sorry if it's too much to ask, it's just hard to find a good fanfic with a similar plot to that.
> 
> Also: WHY can I not write anything short! *sigh* I have no self-control when it comes to details. Sorry.

The morning light was just starting to peek through Peter's cracked curtains when the alarm on his phone rang out pulling him from sleep. Without ever lifting his head that was still faceplanted into his pillow, he haphazardly felt around on his bedside table in an attempt to get ahold of the device so that he could quiet the annoyingly disruptive noise. After knocking several papers to the floor and tipping over a thankfully empty cup he managed to get a hold of the phone only to drop it instantly into the sapce between his bed and the nightstand. "Fantastic," he grumbled to himself while reaching his arm into the tight space to fish out the offending item and finally shut off the alarm.

Once the room had grown silent again, Peter's eyes began to drift closed again. The peace only lasted for a handful of minutes before May was knocking on his door.

"I'm up, Aunt May" he mumbled and then forced himself to sit up, scrubbing his hands up and down his face as he did so. Soon after, he realized that he was more than a little groggy from a lack of sleep, he was sore from his head to his toes and there was a dull ache settling behind his eyes. He vaguely wondered if he was coming down with something and considered if he should stay home from school. A glance at the date on the cracked screen on his phone made his decision for him. It was Friday. Not just any Friday, it was an 'internship' Friday and that meant spending the weekend with Tony. On top of that, it was the day his class was meant to be taking a fitness test in gym. He couldn't miss class. His gym grade was iffy already. He'd gone a little overboard in his attempts to hide his enhancements. He was only a handful of points away from failing the class and really, _who fails gym?_

"You could have scheduled a retake on the fitness test, you know," Ned unhelpfully stated as they slowly exited the boy's locker room. 

Peter sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah but I'd rather get it over with and if I'd stayed home then May wouldn't let me stay with Mr. Stark. Besides, I have a healing factor and super strength, I'm sure I'll be fine. I just need a nap or something," he said, thankful that the coach started issuing instructions before his friend could say anything else.

As it were, taking the fitness test while not feeling well was both a blessing and a curse. He ended up not having to do a whole lot of faking it when it came to downplaying his abilities. After easily finishing the mile run at a leisurely human pace, intentionally letting go of the rope before making it to the top and jumping just slightly higher than Ned, he found himself unexpectedly sweating and struggling to complete the required fifty sit-ups in the allotted time frame. 

"What's the matter, Penis?" Flash snarked from beside him. "You can't finish fifty measly sit-ups? Even Ned managed to do more than that. Might need to change your name to Puny Parker."

"Knock it off, Flash. We all know you lied on your exam card. There's no way you did ninety-eight sit-ups in five minutes," Ned defended and Peter was grateful, he still needed to do at least seven more sit-ups and he wasn't sure he could do that, deal with Flash _and breathe_ at the same time at the moment. As such, he continued to only focus on getting his abdominal muscles to cooperate with him, missing whatever Flash had sneered in return.

The remainder of the exam was blessedly easy. A few stretches and a BMI measurement were manageable. Even so, the moment they were released to change clothes again, Peter thought he might actually cry. He was just glad that gym was the last class of the day. Once he was rinsed off and in his regular clothes, he sat down on the bench, closed his eyes, and drained the water bottle he'd just refilled.

"Dude, you look like crap," Ned observed as he plopped himself down beside his friend on the bench.

"Thanks, man. You're the best," Peter grumbled in response. When he looked beside him and saw the worry on his friend's face, he sighed. "I'm fine. I just tired. I'll sleep in the car on the way to Mr. Stark's and feel better by the time I get there," he said with a wave of his hand. Ned gave a dubious look but dropped the subject and soon enough the bell was ringing, signaling the end of the day.

The nap in the car did nothing for Peter's aching body. It also did nothing for the pain behind his eyes or the mild nausea that had been building since the beginning of the car ride. That didn't stop him from putting on a happy face and bouncing into the lab, though. "Hey, Mr. Stark! What are we going to be doing this weekend? Do you think we'll have time to look at the web-settings in the suit? I think I might have an idea for a new combination that would-" he rattled off while dropping his backpack and crossing the distance between himself and his mentor.

"-Are you sick?" Tony interjected before Peter could finish his rambled request, "Because you look like crap."

Peter stopped dead in his tracks. He wasn't sure why he thought he would be able to hide anything from Tony. The man noticed every detail of every little thing but that didn't stop him from making excuses. "I had gym and we did this really stupid fitness test. Maybe I need a shower before we start," he stuttered, then turned on his heels and rushed out of the room before Tony could comment.

Looking into the bathroom mirror, Peter finally understood Ned, Tony, and surprisingly, Happy's concerned inquiries. His hair was still damp with sweat, his cheeks were both bright red and pale at the same time and his eyes looked glossy. He really did look like crap. He hoped the shower would help with that or at minimum, ease the soreness in his joints. However, neither of those things happened. He stepped out of the shower looking just as miserable as he had when he'd stepped in. Maybe even worse. 

As Peter walked out of the bedroom he spotted Tony sitting on the couch and was slightly taken aback. He'd assumed the man would stay in the lab and wait for him. "Mr. Stark?" he asked as he rounded the corner.

"Hey, kiddo. You-" Tony began with the intention of asking the kid if he was sure he was feeling okay but he paused mid-sentence when the teenager flopped down beside him and leaned into his side already proclaiming that he 'didn't feel good.'

"Yeah. I thought not," Tony replied with a soft smile as he allowed the boy to burrow into him. "That's why I came back up here to check on you."

As much as Peter wanted to tell the man that checking on him hadn't been necessary, he didn't. Now that he was sitting beside him, he was actually really glad his mentor was there and he didn't have to trek all the way back down to the lab. He wasn't sure why he felt so terrible but for some reason, having Tony's arm wrapped protectively around his body made him feel a little batter. He sat there quietly, soaking up the comfort for several minutes before sitting up with a sigh. "Can I have some juice or something please?"

"You know you don't have to ask, Buddy. Just go get what you want," Tony returned with a laugh. He found it amusing that the kid had been coming over for months and still asked permission to get anything out of the kitchen. Every time. 

When Peter returned moments later and curled right back up on the couch beside him, Tony sighed. Clearly he wasn't going to be getting any more work done in the lab. "I guess I'll start up some movies, we can work in the lab tomorrow if you're feeling up to it, alright?" he said more than questioned and it was no shock to him when Peter nodded his head and requested Star Wars.

Two movies, another glass of juice, and a bowl of soup later, Peter was more than ready to go to bed. The problem was it was Friday and going to bed at ten on a Friday was practically unheard of. Usually, he took advantage of the weekends and stayed up entirely too late. Especially when he was with Tony. It was rare for them to go anywhere near a bed before one or two in the morning but when he could no longer keep his eyes open he finally gave. "Is it okay if I go to bed now?" he asked. "I'm sorry, I'm-"

"You're sick, kid. If you're tired you should sleep," Tony replied before Peter could finish his unnecessary apology. "Let's check your temperature again before you head off, though," he added before sticking the digital thermometer under the kid's tongue for what was probably the eightieth time in the last several hours. "That's not too bad," he said with a half-smile as he read the numbers to himself. "Here, take your fever reducers and I'll wake you up so we can check it again before I go to sleep, deal?"

"Mhmm" Peter agreed even though he felt like the constant temperature checks were ridiculous. His fever hadn't changed since he'd taken the first dose of medication after his shower. He wasn't going to argue though. He simply took the pills, said good night, and laid down in his bed, where he fell into what to become a restless and uneasy sleep.

__________

_Peter was sitting on the edge of a highrise casually eating a hotdog while looking over the familiar borough. It was cold outside and after some time he was starting to wonder why the heater in his suit wasn't working. He could feel the chill starting to crawl up his spine, making him shiver. He threw the mask back over his head so that he could contact Tony and let him know it needed to be repaired when out of nowhere, someone grabbed him by the legs and tied him up. He tried to shoot his webs at the unseen assailant but they weren't' working either. He began to flail leading him to unwittingly fall right off the edge of the building. With no way to catch himself, he landed on the cement, sending shockwaves of pain through his body._

_He lay there for several seconds, spitting out the blood that was pooling in his mouth from where he'd bit his tongue, before realizing that there was a shadow looming over him. The person was back-lit and he couldn't see their features but he assumed it was the same person who had tried to capture him up on the roof, so he rapidly sat up and started to scramble backward as best he could with his legs still bound. Once he'd hit a wall, a shadowed figure kneeled in front of him and he whimpered as it reached towards his face._

_He knew that without functioning web-shooters he was going to have to rely on his strength and immediately started swinging. Within seconds he was able to strike the person's face and for the first time ever, the sound of his balled-up fist making contact with the other person's skin made his stomach clench and vomited without warning._

_As he continued to gag into his own lap he could hear voices but he was able to look up to see where they were or what they were doing. All he was able to determine was that one was male and one was female. When his stomach had finished contracting he sat there and_ _squeezed his eyes shut waiting for someone to grab ahold of him as he tried to catch his breath. Just_ _as he was sure that the anticipation was going to kill him, he heard the sound of Iron Man's thrusters approaching._

_Mere seconds later he felt the cool metal of the armor grab his shoulder and opened his eyes. Relief washed over him and he was just about to fall into Tony's arms when the faceplate lifted. Though rather than seeing the welcome face of his mentor, he was met with the piercingly green eyes of the Vulture and he panicked. Somehow The Vulture had stolen Tony's suit and was going to use it against him. He began to kick his legs and throw punches but the grip on his shoulder didn't loosen. Instead, it held tighter than ever and he quickly realized that he was being lifted up and practically dragged to a new location._

_He frantically looked around himself trying to figure out where they were going and how he was going to get away. Knowing that he couldn't let the Vulture take flight, he went limp, dropping his full weight to make himself harder to transport, all the while grasping at anything he could get his hands on in order to anchor himself. Expect everything he managed to touch slipped through his fingers. He resorted to squeezing and kicking the armor instead. None of that worked and the next thing he knew he was being thrust under an outpouring of freezing cold water._

_The icy water came as such a shock that he pulled a gasped breath in and was unable to release it for several seconds. He was drowning. He couldn't breathe, the Vulture was using Tony's suit to hold him under the relentless spray and no matter how much he fought and thrashed he couldn't get free. It took a while but the second he felt like he could take a breath, he started to scream._ _"Tony! Help me! Please! Mr. Stark!" he shouted over and over again until he no longer had the strength to get the words out and was forced to fall silent. At that point, he stopped struggling. He had nothing left to give._

_As his body fell lax against the stolen Iron Man suit Peter closed his eyes and whimpered. Normally the armor made him feel safe and comforted but know who was inside left him feeling lost and afraid. He tried to pretend that it was Tony in the suit and mumbled his name. He was surprised when he heard the man's voice calling back to him saying 'You're safe, Pete. I've got you. Mr. Stark has you.'_

____________

Tony had been in his bed casually propped up on the headboard, reading through a few proposals when FRIDAY alerted him that Peter was in distress. Without further clarification, he bolted out of his own room and down the hall towards the kids. He opened the boy's door just in time to see him tumble out of the bed and onto the floor. Noticing the sheet wound around Peter's legs and the blood trailing past his lips, he kneeled down to untangled him and inspect his mouth for injury but before he could get close enough to make contact the teenager's breath quickened and he backed himself up against the bedside table. 

"It's just me, Buddy," Tony said before pulling the sheet away and reaching out to take hold of Peter's chin. Only before he could make contact the frightened teenager began to thrash and one of his haphazardly thrown punches ended up hitting him solidly in the eye, sending him toppling onto his back. "I should have expected that," he said to himself, knowing full well that he shouldn't have tried to touch the kid while he was panicking without some sort of acknowledgment. He took a second to reach up and touch where his eye was starting to throb and hissed through his teeth. While he knew the teenager had enhanced strength, he'd never been on the receiving end of it before. He wasn't convinced that his eye socket wasn't fractured. There wasn't much time to consider it before he heard kid wretching and he managed to look up just in time to see the boy vomiting down his shirt. 

"Shit," Tony said to himself. When he'd come into the room, he'd seen that the kid's eyes were open and had assumed that he'd fallen out of bed while having a nightmare and was still trying to recover. The fact that he'd gone to bed sick hadn't crossed his mind until that very second and at that point, it was all starting to click. "FRIDAY? What's his temperature?" he requested despite the fact that he would have preferred to use a thermometer. Even though he had an advanced AI that was capable of making a similar assessment. He liked to think that sometimes, the best tool for the job was the simplest.

It only took a few seconds for FRIDAY to read off a number that had Tony cringing with concern. It seemed that the kid's manageable fever had spiked as he slept. Knowing that the boy wasn't likely to be cooperative in the state that he was in and not particularly wanting to end up with a second black eye, he opted to call for a suit. With the servo assistance, he figured he could get them into the shower and cool him down enough to get him back to his senses.

With the armor in place, Tony reached down and grabbed Peter by his shoulder. He was taken slightly by surprise when the boy's breath slowed at the contact. Then thinking the worst of it was over he lifted the faceplate only to be met by the kid turning as white as a sheet screaming as though he'd seen a ghost. "Hey, hey, hey. Easy, kiddo. It's just me. I'm going to pick you up," he announced before hoisting the teenager up onto his feet. 

As Tony began to walk Peter became more and more aggressive. He'd already stopped bearing any of his own weight and had knocked over several things, including a bookshelf in an attempt to get away from his grasp. The kid had even gone so far as to grab ahold of his armored arm and squeezed so tightly that the suit has warped under the pressure. He was sure it would bruise and was glad that hadn't been his bare arm. 

"In we go, kiddo," Tony said before firmly grasping the kid around the waist and pinning him down under the spray of the shower that FRIDAY had started for him. At first, the water was pelting them in the face but after a few struggled adjustments, he was able to readjust their position so that it was landing on their legs and chests instead. At that point, Peter seemed to find his voice again and began to shout, 'Tony! Help me! Please! Mr. Stark!' repetitively at the top of his lungs while trying to free himself.

Tony offered constant reassurances. The kid's frantic pleas were causing his heart to ache. He didn't know what else he could do to help ease the terror that had taken over the boy's consciousness. That's how they spent the next ten minutes. Peter screaming for Tony and Tony trying to convince him that he was already there. Though the most heartbreaking part of the whole ordeal was when the boy had finally run out of steam and fell limp onto his chest, still whimpering his name. "You're safe, Pete. I've got you," he whispered into the kid's ear. "Mr. Stark has you."

____________

The moment Peter heard Tony's familiar voice saying 'Mr. Stark has you,' his eyes snapped open and all at once things started to clear up. Gone was the dark alley and the spout of ice water that had been pouring from a pipe. Instead, as he looked around, he realized he was in the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom in Tony's penthouse. He was suddenly unsure of what was real and what wasn't. When he looked down, he wasn't in his suit, he was in a pair of stained sweatpants. He tentatively looked behind him, bracing himself for the worst. He could feel someone holding him and was still unsure of who it was. His breath quickened for the only moment when he saw the Iron Man armor but relaxed instantly the second he laid eyes on his mentor's face.

"Hey there, Buddy. You with me now?" Tony asked, not loosening his grasp even after Peter had nodded back at him. "FRIDAY? Is his temperature back down out of the rafters?" he asked next and when the AI relayed that the kid's temperature was still elevated but no longer dangerously so, he released his hold. 

"What happened?" Peter asked as he shifted his body so that he was laying chest to chest with Tony and curling up in an attempt to avoid the tepid water that was still falling against his back. 

"Fever dream," Tony said wishing that he could retract the armor without having to force the kid to get off of him. "Well, fever terror in this case, I think."

"Am I going to die?" Peter asked with a shudder. Despite the lowered fever, he still hurt all over and was so exhausted that he could hardly breathe without effort.

"No, Buddy," Tony chuckled before reaching down to push the dripping curls off of the kid's forehead. "I think we should probably get out of this shower and get you into some dry clothes, though," he said and Peter nodded, though he made no effort to move. "You've gotta let me up, kiddo," he quietly spoke before helping the listless boy rise to his feet and step out onto the bathroom rug.

After being wrapped up in the giant towel, Peter got his first good look at Tony's swollen eye and bruised arm causing him to panic all over again. "Did I do that? Did I hurt you?" he asked, his eyes having gone wide and his lip quivering with feverish emotion. 

"It was my own fault, Kid," Tony said with a half-hearted smile. "You were panicking and I should have known better than to try to touch you right then."

"I'm so sorry. I don't- I didn't know it was you. It was like I was somewhere else and the Vulture was in your suit instead of you and it felt _so real_ ," Peer said in an attempt to explain to the man why he'd lased out. "I thought he'd stole your suit and was trying to drown me."

Tony just nodded his head and wordlessly helped the boy into some pajamas and because Peter's room still reeked of sweat and vomit, he guided him past the mess and down the hallway. He could feel the boy stiffen under his hand as they entered the master bedroom but he assured him that a bed would be more comfortable than the couch. When the boy relaxed he helped him under the blankets and handed him a bottle of water and some more medication. Then after some minor debate, he decided to go find himself an ice pack and lay down on the opposite side of the bed. He couldn't stop himself from smiling when the kid instantly pressed up against him. "Comfy?"

"Mhmm. 'M tired and you're warm," Peter replied, snuggling in a bit closer. He was still chilled not only from the prolonged cool shower but the lingering low-grade fever as well. 

Tony chuckled and wrapped his arm around the boy to offer a little bit more warmth and comfort. "Is that all I am to you? A warm body?" he quipped but when Peter struggled to answer he had mercy on him and gave him a gentle squeeze. "I was teasing, Pete. It's fine. Go to sleep."

Rather than going to sleep as asked, Peter lay still for several minutes. He couldn't get past the fact that he'd hurt his mentor. The man's assurances that he'd been out of his mind when he'd done it were of no help and the guilt was eating at him. "Hey, Mr. Stark?" he asked, knowing he would be unable to fitfully sleep until he managed to quell the nagging remorse.

"Hmm?", Tony asked, caught slightly off guard. He'd thought the kid was already asleep and had been on his way there himself.

Peter hesitated for a second and then sighed. "I'm still really sorry I hit you," he said, turning his head just slightly so that he could see Tony's face. Though, all that did was cause more guilt to wash over him when he saw the half-melted ice pack still resting on the side of the man's face.

"Yeah well, you can repay me by _going to sleep,"_ Tony replied with a smile, "-and not waking up until at least ten. Preferably fever-free."

"I'll do my best," Peter promised before closing his eyes again. He still felt awful about the entire incident but Tony was smiling at him and for the time being, that was enough. He decided he could make it up to him properly when he was feeling more like himself. Maybe by repairing the armor he was sure he's ruined. Maybe by swearing to stay home from school the next time he felt like crap. Maybe both. He wasn't sure yet. His thoughts had been cut off by a hand gently threading through his hair, soothing him into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on tumblr! [yes-i-am-happyaspie](https://yes-i-am-happyaspie.tumblr.com/)


End file.
